Mounting for snow removing mechanism



Jan. 17, 1939. wwrzl KLAUER 2,144,312

MOUNTING FOR SNOW REMOVING MECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 12, 1936 6Sheets-Sheet 1 11th: up:

Jan. 17, 1939; w. E. KLAUER MOUNTING FOR SNOW REMOVING MEQHANISMOriginal Filed Aug. 12, 1936 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllm,

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Jan. 17, 1939. w. E. KLAUER 2,144,312

MOUNTING FOR SNOW REMOVING MECHANISM ori inal Filed Aug. 12, 1936 6Sheets-Sheet 3 awe/whom Jan. 17, 1939. w. E. KLAUER 2,144,312

MOUNTING FOR SNOW REMOVING MECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 12, 1936 6Sheets-Sheet 4 Jan. '17, 1939.. w. E. KLAUER MOUNTING FOR SNOW REMOVINGMECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 12, 3,936 6, Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 17, 193%w KLAUER 2,144,312

MOUNTING FOR SNOW REMOVING MECHANISM- Original Filed Aug. 12, 1956 6$heets$heet 6 Patented Jan. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEMOUNTING FOR SNOW REMOVING MECHANISM Walter E. Klauer, Dubuque, Iowa 6Claims.

The present invention relates to mountings for snow removing mechanismsand particularly for such mechanisms adapted for use in removing snowfrom streets and highways. It is concerned more particularly 'with suchmechanism which is carried by a motor truck.

This application is a division of my copending application S. No.95,688, filed August 12, 1936.

In the past, the usual practice in the production of snow removingmechanism has been to mount the same permanently on a special truck.Such an arrangement is comparatively expensive. and its expense isincreased because it can be used only during a short period of the yearThe advantage of the use of trucks as compared to tractors is that suchdevices can move easily from one place to another as required at a highrate of speed, which is almost a necessity.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide power drivensnow removal mechanism of a practical and efficient type which isarranged so that it can be readily mounted on and removed from a truck.Both the snow remover and the power unit for driving the same are easilyand readily demountable. manner, the mechanism may be applied to astandard truck, which is used during the snow season to carry the snowremoving mechanism, and may be used during the remainder of the year forhauling purposes as a freight vehicle.

One of the special features by which this result is accomplished residesin a special frame which acts as a carrier for the snow remover and itslifting mechanism, and which is mountable as a unit on the front of atruck in such a manner that it rests on one of the truck chasis membersand is supported directly thereby.

It is quite usual to have a snow remover mounted on the front of avehicle in such a manner that it can be lifted or lowered either to passover obstructions or to move at a given distance above the surface ofthe ground or road. In the past, however, and particularly with therotary type of plow,to which my invention especially relates, the snowremover has been mounted in such a manner that it turns about an axis orpivot in its rising and falling movement. Such an arrangement tilts thesnow remover either forward or backard, and throws it far out of line sothat it does not act in its proper and intended manner. A further objectof the present invention therefore is to provide a mounting for a snowremover on a vehicle such that it is capable of a substantially straightup and down movement without tilting. More especially I provide In thisa specific mounting for giving this result. This mounting both acts as aguide to keep the snow remover in vertical position, as a carryingmechanism for the snow remover, and also as a thrust resisting mechanismfor imparting the force exerted on the plow by the resistance of thesnow to the chassis of the vehicle.

Furthermore, the lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the snowremover is generally of a heavy and complicated nature. An object of theinvention is to provide a simple lifting mechanism which is relativelylight in weight and which is yet strong and effective. Also, the liftingarrangement is so designed as to avoid blocking the radiator of thetruck: One of the principal features by which this result isaccomplished resides in the fact that most of the parts of the liftingmechanism are under tension. and can thus be made in a simplified andconsiderably lightened form. Another important part of the invention isthe arrangement of the lifting devices at opposite sides of the vehicle.

Furthermore, in vertically movable snow'removers heretofore known therehas been a considerable disadvantage in that the means for 5 raising thetwo sides of the mechanism often do not work together and insynchronism. One side of such a device may rise as much as eight inchesbefore the other side rises at all. Of course this often defeats thewhole purpose of raising the 0 snow remover, since instead of giving alevel out at a given height, a sloping cut is obtained. Furthermore, itcauses considerable strain on the parts and thus reduces the life of thedevice.

Another object of the invention then is to pro- 35 vide an arrangementwhich will absolutely prevent one side of the snow remover from risingfaster than the other, but will equalize at all times the motion of thetwo sides so that the snow remover is kept absolutely parallel to the 40road surface. A further feature of the invention resides in anarrangement by which a rotary type of snow remover may be separatedeasily and quickly from the remainder of the device, and a plow ofanother type substituted therefor in such a manner that the second plowcan be raised and lowered by the same arrangement which supports therotary snow remover. More especially, Iprovide a device in which theremoval of four pins is all that is necessary to take off the rotaryplow and replace it by a push plow or other construction.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of anovel thrust bar for resisting rearward movement of the lower end of asnow 55 remover. this bar comprising members under and simple structureof considerable strength is provided.

Further objects and advantages of the inventisn will appear more fullyfrom the following description, particularly when taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings which form a. part thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a snow remover embodying my invention andshown as mounted on a truck.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view showing the snow remover frame.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the unita frame.

Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation showing the lifting, guiding andequalizing mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a front view of one side of this mechanism with the snowremover disconnected.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of one side of the mechanism shown in Fig. 5with parts broken away.

Fig. 8 is a cross section on the line -0 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the arrangement for holding the snow removerin raised position.

As shown in Fig. l, the snow remover is mounted'on a truck A of anystandard type. This truck has a chassis consisting of longitudinalmembers 2, and a front cross member 4, wheels 0, supported by axles suchas the front axle I0. The wheels, preferably the rear wheels, are drivenby a motor mounted in the hood I2 and provided with a radiator I4. Thetruck also has a cab I0 of any suitable type.

Mounted on the rear end of the truck is a power unit. The power unitconsists of a motor or engine controlled by a throttle which may beoperated by a. lever 22 inside the cab I0 through a flexible or Bowdencable 24. The unit also includes a gasoline tank for supplying fuel tothe engine and a suitable pump for forcing a liquid such as oil underpressure into a supply tank. The motor drives a clutch which is mountedin a housing and is controlled through a link and lever system 02 by alever 04 in the cab of the truck. The clutch is adapted to couple anduncouple a shaft to and from the motor.

C indicates in general the snow remover. It consists in the preferredform of a casing having side walls 00, a bottom wall and a scraper blade40 and a rear wall 42. An opening in the rear wall 42 communicates withthe interior of a fan casing 40 in which is mounted a fan for ejectingsnow through the spout 40. Within the casing formed by walls 00, 40 and42 are mounted three augers or conveyers 00 on horizontal verticallyspaced axes. These augers are all driven, by a suitable chain drivemechanism 41 from a sprocket mounted on a shaft 40, to feed snow towardsthe center of the casing so that it can pass through the opening intothe fan casing 40.

The snow removing mechanism is driven through a shaft mechanism runningunderneath the truck. The power unit drives a shaft section 00. Section00 is mounted in a flexible or selfaiigning bearing 61 which allowsvariation of the angular position of the shaft with respect to thebearing. In front of the bearing 01 is arranged a universal joint 00which drives another shaft section 00. The front end I0 of shaft 00 isreduced in cross section and fits into a coupling member II in keyedrelation thereto. The members l0 and II are slldable endwise withrespect to each other. Member II is connected by a universal Joint I2 toa shaft II which is fixed in the snow remover and drives the rotaryaugers and the fan thereof.

Various possible mountings may be used for the intermediate bearing 01.In the form shown, the bearing 01 is mounted through angle members I4 onthe front axle I0 of the vehicle.

The mounting of the snow remover on the truck will now be described.

The snow remover is carried by a frame having transverse front top andbottom members 02 and 00, transverse rear top and bottom members 04 and95. top side members 01, vertical members 06, and horizontal bottommembers 98 which support the ends of scraper 40 forming the bottomportion of the wall of the auger casing.

I provide a unitary frame which may be easily applied to and removedfrom a truck for carrying the snow remover and the mechanism formanipulating the same. This frame is shown in Figs. 4 to 8.

The supporting and guiding unitary frame for the plow includes a frontcross member I02 adapted to be secured by bolts I04 to the front crosspiece 4 of the chassis and side plates I00 adapted to be secured bybolts I00 to the side frame members 2 of the chassis. The cross memberI02 has secured thereto and above it another cross member I I2 whichextends out beyond the sides of the chassis frame. It will be noted(Fig. 8) that member II2 also extends rearwardly slightly beyond memberI02, and that this extension rests on the top of front chassis member 4.In this fashion the chassis member supports the weight of the snowremover directly and the whole load thereof is not carried by the bolts.

Both the mmebers I02 and H2 are angle irons. The side members I06 extendforwardly of the chassis frame and of the cross member I02 and at theirforward ends support vertically arranged T-shaped rails having legportions II4, bolted to the extensions H of the side plates, and crossportions or arms H0. Plates I26 are secured to and extend downwardlyfrom the ends of the cross member H2, and angle members I are secured tothe side pieces I00. The parts of this frame are preferably both rivetedand welded together, so that the whole frame acts as a unit which may besecured bodily to the truck and will serve as the connection between thesnow remover and the vehicle.

Guide blocks or slide members I I0 are provided with T-shaped slots I20which fit over the arms of the T rails and thus the blocks IIO areguided thereby for vertical sliding movement. Pins I22 pass through theblocks I I0 and through the arms or brackets I24 secured on the crossmember 04 of the plow frame, one of these brackets being arranged oneach side of each block- IIO. Thus the plow frame is guided at bothsides for straight up and down movement.

For raising and lowering the plow a special hydraulic arrangement isprovided. Through the pairs of parallel plates I20 and I20 are insertedpins I 00 on which are pivotally mounted blocks I02 supportingtransverse pins I04. The pins I04 provide pivots for hydraulic cylindersI00, one on each side of the snow remover. in which are slidablyarranged pistons I00.

Secured to the frame side members I00 at points to the rear of the frontcross chassis memfront of the snow remover.

her are uprights I40, which are braced. by links I42 connected at oneend to the uprights and at the other end to the ends of the transversemember I I2. Pivotedto the upper end of the uprights are. beams orwlinksI 44, preferably I beams. These beams carry'blocks I46 to which arepivoted the pistons I38 and links I48 which at their other ends aretraversed by'the pins I22 in the neighborhood of the outer brackets I24.

Of course one of these .lifting devices is provided on each side of theplow, and the other ends of the beams I44 are connected by a spacer andbracing rod I50. It will be notedthat this provides a simple andconvenient mechanism for raising and lowering the snow remover withoutblocking in any manner the front of the radiator of the truck. This is aspecial advantage since when suchtrucks are in operation there is dangerthat the engine will become overheated if the radiator is blocked.

The hydraulic cylinders I36 are supplied with fluid under pressurethrough flexible pipes I52, releasable connections I54 and pipes I56.The supply of fluid to pipes I56 is controlled through a handle I62lobated' in the cab of the truck. The details of this controlarrangement form no part of the invention, and it is suificient to statethat when the handle is moved to one position the piston will be causedto rise, while in the other position it will drop. Fluid under pressureis supplied from a tank.

In order to take the load off this hydraulic system when the truck isbeing driven over long distances and the snow remover is not in use, Imay provide pins I6I adapted to pass through holes in the T rails II4just below the blocks IIB when the same are in raised position. Thesepins may be secured to the T rails by chains I63 so that they will notbe lost. Preferably the pins have pointed ends and annular grooves I64at points spaced from the ends, so that the pressure caused by theweight of the plow exerted through engagement of blocks IIB with theends of the pin will cause the grooves I64 to engage the sides of theopenings in the rails H4 and thus prevent the pins from slipping out ofposition even though subjected to the shocks caused by inequalities inthe road.

Additional mechanism is provided to make certain that one side of theplow does not rise faster than the other, and to insure leveling of thesnow remover at all times. Brackets I66 secured to the upper ends of theT-shaped rails II4 support a shaft I68 which extends across the At eachside of the snow remover are arranged levers I'I0 both keyed to theshaft. Links "2 are each pivoted at one end to one of said levers I andat the other ends engage the pins I22. This arrangement prevents oneside of the plow from moving faster or slower than the other, since anymotion imparted to one side will be equalized on the other side throughthe links, levers and shaft. It will be noted that when theplow is inits raised position, shown in Fig. 5, the levers I10 are substantiallyupright, and thus also help to take the load off the hydraulicmechanism.

In order to brace the bottom of the plow against backward tiltingbecause of the pressure of snow, a special type of thrust bar isprovided.

The thrust bar I92 consists of an I beam. The front end of this thrustbar is secured by a pin I94 to the lower corner of the plow supportingframe. Obviously one of these bars is arranged on each side of the snowremover.

The fan casing 46 is mounted to rotate for example in the manner shownin the Wandscheer Patent No. 1,886,069. It is important to be able toshift the position of the spout 48 from one side to the other of thesnow remover so that the direction'of the stream of snow may be changed.For this purpose, I provide a hydraulic device for controlling theposition of the fan casing." A lever I 96 in the cab of the truckcontrols the supply of fluid under pressure from a reservoir to pipes202 extending from this reservoir to the front of the truck, andconnected through couplings 204 to flexible hoses 206.

Mounted on the cross member 94 is a bracket which supports one end .of ahydraulic cylinder 2I2. The member 94 also supports a pairof spacedU-shaped rails 2I4 between which slides a cross head. A piston slidablein the cylinder 2 I2 has an extension which is connected by a pin 1While I have described herein some embodiments of my invention, I wishit to be understood that I do not intend to limit myself thereby exceptwithin the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: 1. In a snow removing mechanism, a vehicle, a

snow remover, means to mount said snow remover on the vehicle forvertical movement with respect thereto, said means comprising aplurality of T-shaped vertical rails, means for removably securing saidrails on the front of a vehicle, said snow remover having lugs extendingrearwardly therefrom, blocks having T-shaped grooves slidably mounted onsaid rails, pins extending through said blocks and said lugs, and meansmounted on the vehicle to raise and lower the snow remover, said lastmeans comprising elements engaging said pins and traversed thereby.

2. In a snow removing mechanism, a vehicle, a snow remover, means tomount said snow remover on the vehicle for vertical movement withrespect thereto, said means comprising a plurality of T- shaped verticalrails. means supporting said rails on the front of a vehicle, said snowremover having lugs extending rearwardly therefrom, blocks havingT-shaped grooves slidably mounted on said rails, pins extending throughsaid blocks and said lugs, means mounted on the vehicle to raise andlower the snow remover, and means connected to the lower part of saidframe and to said vehicle to resist rearward movement of the lower partof said snow remover, said last means comprising members connected tosaid vehicle, and pins connecting said members to said snow remover.

3. In a snow removing mechanism, a vehicle, a snow remover, means tomount said snow remover on the vehicle for vertical movement withrespect thereto, said means comprising a plurality of T- 'shapedvertical rails, means for removably securing said rails on the front ofavehicle, said snow remover having a frame provided with a horizontalframe member extending transversely thereof, lugs extending rearwardlyfrom said frame member, blocks having T-shaped grooves slidably mountedon said rails, pins extending through said blocks and said lugs, meansmounted on the vehicle to raise and lower the snow remover, said lastmeans comprising elements enga ing said pins and traversed thereby, andmeans connected to the lower part ofsaid frame and to said vehicle toresist rearward movement of the lower part of said snow remover, saidlast means comprising members connected to said vehicle, and pinsconnecting said members to said frame.

4. In a snow removing mechanism. a vehicle, a snow remover, means tomount said snow remover on the vehicle for vertical movement withrespect thereto, said means comprising a plurality of vertical rails,means supporting said rails on the front of a vehicle, said snow removerhaving lugs extending rearwardly therefrom, blocks slidably mounted onsaid rails. pins extending through said blocks and said lugs,meansmounted on the vehicle to raise and lower the snow remover, and meansconnected to the lower part of said frame and to said vehicle to resistrearward movement of the lower part of said snow remover, said lastmeans comprising members connected to said vehicle, and means connectingsaid members to said snow remover.

5. In a snow removing mechanism, a vehicle, a snow remover, means tomount said snow remover on the vehicle for vertical movement withrespect thereto, said means comprising a plurality of vertical rails,means securing said rails on the front of a vehicle, said snow removerhaving lugs extending rearwardly therefrom, blocks slidably mounted onsaid rails, pins extending through said blocks and said lugs, and meansmounted on the vehicle to raise and lower the snow remover. said lastmeans comprising elements engaging said pins and traversed thereby.

6. In a snow removing mechanism, a vehicle a snow remover, guide meansmounting said snow remover on the vehicle for vertical movement withrespect thereto, said guide means including two members verticallyguided, a pin connecting the snow remover to each of said members, meansmounted on the vehicle to raise and lower the snow remover with respectto the vehicle including elements engaging said pins, means connected tothe lower part 01 the snow remover and to the vehicle to resist rearwardmovement of the lower part of the snow remover including two bracingmembers connected to the vehicle and a pin securing each said bracingmembers to the snow remover, said four pins forming the sole supportingconnection between the snow remover and the vehicle.

WALTER E. KLAUER.

